Lost Airmen of World War II

On August 3, 1944, a C-47 transport carrying twenty-eight men
of the U.S. Army Air Forces crashed in a ravine six miles southwest
of Naper during a severe storm. There were no survivors. It was
the largest single military air disaster in Nebraska history.
The plane was in flight from the Bruning, Nebraska, Army Air Field
to Pierre, South Dakota, where the men would complete gunnery
training before going overseas. A monument in nearby Knollcrest
Cemetery honors their sacrifice.